


Above and Beyond

by APlaceToEscape



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Female Frisk, Gaster is not Badster, Gen, Houseplant Flowey, Human and Monster relations, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possible canon deviance, Post-Canon, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route - "I want to stay with you.", Rating May Change, Sans Doesn't Remember Resets, Semi-Slow Burn, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tags May Change, also there will be eventual humans that will be part of the overall story, and possibly more canon deviance than i originally intended but nothing severe, but Frisk does and gets to have all the reset memory trauma rather Sans oh snap, but yeah there will be human OCs, eventual angst, gaster is dadster, i mean Paps is gonna make friends with humans like i know he would, in regards to the Soriel, or i guess maybe just straight up immediate angst as of chpt. 1 oops, so if that's not your jam i'm just letting you know, so that's why it's a thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-23 12:43:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9657935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/APlaceToEscape/pseuds/APlaceToEscape
Summary: The Barrier has been broken and monsters are now free to live on the surface among humans. However, despite relations between the races being very positive and adjustments to surface life going pretty smoothly, things might not be so peaceful for everyone just yet.Frisk attempts to be a normal kid, which isn't easy with memories of too many resets and the fear of having to go through another if she can't give everyone a truly happy ending.Papyrus decides that if he's living on the surface then he needs to be educated on the surface, and humans as well, and he may end up getting more than he bargained for, in both good and bad ways.Sans agrees to help Frisk save the lost monsters however he can and, against his better judgement, begins to hope once again that it might be possible to bring back the forgotten W.D. Gaster.Things are certainly different for everyone since reaching the surface, and even though many things are good it doesn't appear anything will be "normal" ever again.





	1. Prologue: In Memoriam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Many things begin...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this fic is really going to be my attempt to put like a few different small ideas I had (that likely wouldn't be very good as standalone fics) into one story and string it all together with as much of a plot as I can muster. 
> 
> I even wrote mini outlines/guidelines for where I want to at least try to make the story go! I've never done that before but maybe it'll help me here!
> 
> I actually wanted to do this as a comic or something but I really have no time for that...so rusty writing it is!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this!

The Underground was quiet now, save for the usual cave-like noises.

It was also dark. Incredibly dark. The Core reactor was no longer running, no longer feeding power and light to the vast cavern beneath the mountain.

It didn't need to anymore, though. Not with monsters now residing on the surface, except for a few straggling ones here and there that hadn't yet worked up the motivation or nerve to travel to the surface.

It had been a bit easier to get through Hotland with the glow of the fire aiding them somewhat, but Waterfall wasn't as bright.

The luminescent crystals embedded in the walls and ceilings did help, but the flashlights they had brought did a great deal more.

"Not as, uh...homey as I remember it." Sans forced a chuckle, more to break the silence than anything else.

Despite having lived in the Underground his whole life, he felt like he was seeing it with new eyes now that they had all been living on the surface. Even if it had only been a few months.

The stale air felt stifling, and the realization of how deep under the surface they were buried was even more so. It now felt much more like what it had been intended for in the very beginning.

A prison.

A tomb.

"So...are we close?" He shuddered, suddenly eager to get back to the surface and their home as soon as possible, as if staying here too long would undo the past six months and trap them all here again. "You said it was around here, right?"

Frisk didn't respond but instead scurried ahead of him, shining her flashlight around the sparkling hall. A few moments later she doubled back, heading back the way they had come.

The child repeated this a few times, Sans eventually stopping and leaning against the wall to watch, before returning to his side looking frustrated and distraught.

"It's not here?" Sans cast his own flashlight over the walls as if to confirm for himself there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Frisk shook her head. "...It was."

"Weird."

"He was in there."

"I believe you...still weird though."

The child huffed and pouted at the floor, clearly upset. She had gone on and on for a while about some door she had seen and a mysterious monster behind it who disappeared when she approached him.

Nobody had really paid much attention to her words or given them much thought, or they suggested that maybe she had simply seen a ghost. A ghost that just wanted to be left alone.

It wasn't until she mentioned the other monsters, mere shadowy figures who spoke cryptic phrases and a name she didn't know, that Sans really took note of what she claimed to have seen. So after getting as many details as he could from her, which unfortunately wasn't much, he had agreed to make this trek with her to check it out.

He wasn't sure what he was planning to do if he saw the things she spoke of, but he felt he had to see it if possible. If there was a chance that Gaster was out there somewhere, even trapped in some other reality, then maybe...maybe he could be brought back after all.

But since this mystery door didn't seem to be showing itself, and the supposed other monsters she had encountered had been nowhere to be seen either even though they had searched all of Hotland where she had seen them before, Sans decided that Frisk's word would have to be proof enough. At least for now.

He ruffled her hair affectionately. "Hey, c'mon kiddo. I believe you, alright? Door or no door."

This didn't appear to lift her spirits at all but he wasn't sure what else he could say.

Fortunately, his phone picked that moment to ring loudly from his pants pocket.

Saved by the bell. Or rather, in this case, a very loud song that he only vaguely recognized. Just for kicks he'd let everyone pick their own ringtones on his phone if they had wanted to. Whatever this one was, it was definitely fitting for its assigned caller.

"'Sup, Undyne?"

"Where’d you and the runt go, bonehead?!" Her voice blared through the phone's speaker. "The ceremony’s gonna start soon!"

"Just for a little walk."

"You've been gone for almost an hour!"

"We're on our way back. Don't worry."

"You've got, like, fifteen minutes! You better be-"

"Oh nooo...the reception is terrible here..."

"Sans!"

"Can't hear you. Breaking up. Later."

Sans ended the call and, after a quick look at the digital clock on the screen, slid the phone back into his pocket. He had lost track of time and they probably should get back to the park before the ceremony started. Not that he was really feeling up to spending who knows how long around so many people, humans or monsters, but it was an important occasion and, more than anything, Frisk needed to be there.

With a sigh he turned his attention back to the kid. "We better hurry up and get back. The guest of honor shouldn't be late."

"Wait." Frisk tugged at his sleeve. "One more thing. Remember?"

"Oh...yeah. Right." He had sort of been hoping she'd forget about that. She had sprung this other plot of hers on him when they had already gotten back underground and he couldn't exactly change his mind about bringing her here.

"Listen, are you sure about this?"

Frisk nodded, clutching the straps of her backpack. "I promised."

There was clearly no talking her out of it. Not when she was this determined about something.

Sighing again, Sans placed a hand on her back. "Okay. If you say so."

One moment and a quick shortcut later and they were standing in an eerily still, dimly lit chamber.

Light filtered down from a hole in the cavern ceiling into the darkness, settling like a spotlight on a patch of golden flowers a few yards away.

He had only been to this part of the Ruins briefly while helping Toriel pack her things to officially move to the surface. Though really all he'd done to help was just keep an eye on Frisk for Toriel so she wouldn't have to worry about her while Papyrus and Undyne actually helped her to pack.

And he hadn't exactly been too diligent in that task the whole time, though in all fairness he figured the kid had proved a million times over already that she was more than capable of looking out for herself.

Of course he really didn't want Toriel to worry, so he made sure to check up on Frisk here and there when he wasn't taking care of his own things, things he didn't exactly want everyone to know about.

Over the course of the few days it took to get everything sorted out, Sans had found Frisk only seemed interested in visiting two places.

One, he now knew, was the supposed location of the mystery door in Waterfall. The other was here, the flower patch in this isolated part of the Ruins. And he hadn't exactly been thrilled to find out the reason why. The reason she had wanted to come back here now.

Sans hung back and watched from a slight distance as Frisk eagerly dashed forward and knelt down among the flowers, letting her backpack slip off.

There was rustling among the plants for a moment before one of them rose above the others and turned toward them, revealing a face with a cheeky expression.

The creature apparently known as Flowey.

Whatever happened when the Barrier broke was still fuzzy for him, and for everyone else from the conversations they'd shared about it, but one thing that stayed pretty clear, at least in his mind, was that Flowey had been there and he hadn't exactly been friendly. Or willing to let them live. Overall he just didn't seem like a pleasant or trustworthy talking plant.

After that it was all pretty much blank. But apparently something had happened between Frisk and the flower during that blank lapse in Sans' memory that made the child want to be friends with him.

During her visits with him during the move, she had apparently been trying to convince him to come with them o the surface, something Flowey had been very against in the beginning. But eventually he seemed to become torn about the idea, so Frisk had apparently promised him she would come back after a few months to see if he could make up his mind.

So here they were, and as Sans watched the child and sentient flower converse he just hoped he could still trust this kid's judgement.

He wasn't close enough to hear their hushed conversation, but after a while Flowey's demeanor seemed to change. He appeared defeated, drooping low as Frisk gently patted his petals and pulled a terra cotta pot from her backpack.

Several minutes later the child returned to Sans with the pot, now containing Flowey, in her arms. Dirt smudged her dress shirt and pants and a triumphant grin was spread wide across her face. Flowey didn't make eye contact with him, glaring at the ground intently instead.

Sans still didn't feel confident in bringing the flower along, but a quick look at his phone told him they only had five minutes to get back and he was a bit more concerned about what the others would do to him if he and Frisk weren't there in time.

"Well..." He put an arm around Frisk's shoulders, "let's go get this party started I guess."

* * *

"Sans!" Papyrus' voice roused him once again from his barely coherent state. "You'll miss everything if you keep falling asleep!"

"Hm?" Sans forced his eyes open for what was probably the dozenth time as Papyrus shook him by the shoulder. "What? No, no. 'M awake bro...totally awake."

He really was trying to stay awake, but all the long distance teleportation had taken quite a toll on him. He was surprised he hadn't just plain passed out upon arriving back at Ebott Park so really the fact that he was at least semi coherent was a feat in and of itself.

Being able to teleport was a rare and useful power to have, but it could be very physically demanding. The greater the distance, and the more people he brought along with him, the greater the toll it was on his energy. And he estimated that the distance from Ebott Park to Mt. Ebott and back again was nearly one hundred miles altogether. With Frisk accompanying him and the other shortcutting they had done while in the Underground it all added up to Sans being more exhausted than he could remember being in years.

The bright sunlight wasn’t helping much either. He was, of course, used to sunlight itself by now, but he had found that he much preferred dim lighting. At least right now when he wasn’t feeling well. The glaring summer sun was worsening the headache that had been growing since they arrived here, which just made it harder than it already was to want to keep his eyes open at all.

Heaving a deep breath, he straightened up in his seat at the picnic table once more and propped his head up in his hands to attempt to pay attention to the happenings on the stage that had been set up in the open grassy area a few yards away.

From the sound of the speech the human on stage was giving, it didn’t seem like this ceremony would be much longer anyway. So he really had missed pretty much everything already. It didn’t matter too much to him. Not that it wasn’t a good or important event, but he’d been in on all the planning for it, along with Frisk, Papyrus, Tori, and everyone else. So it wasn’t like he didn’t know what he had missed.

A human, their president or something, had given some speech about welcoming the monsters back to the surface and how, if humanity hadn’t apparently grown to think monsters were just myths, they surely would have been freed from behind the Barrier long ago. It sounded like a phony statement, but given the mostly positive reception monsters had received from the humans since they’d first arrived he really couldn’t help but believe it. At the very least, whether or not the humans in charge and giving speeches about were faking it, the majority of humans they’d all encountered so far had been genuine enough to make up for it if that were the case.

After that, Asgore had spoken about looking forward to a bright future with both races unified and living in peace and things like that. He also stated that he would no longer be king, that he no longer deserved that title, and instead would be assisting Frisk, the monster ambassador to humans, if she had need of him. As part of unifying the races, the monsters would abide by surface laws and customs of the lands they chose to inhabit.

Asgore had, of course, informed the monsters of this long before this ceremony. Very few had been content with this decision and it had taken quite a bit of convincing to calm those who were most upset by this. In fact, Sans sensed that many were still displeased with it, as evidenced by the fact that many monsters didn’t seem to have shown up today. He couldn’t judge the human turnout in the same way, as humans greatly outnumbered monsters, but there were many humans here so it was a small comfort at least.

_Thunk!_

Sans jerked upright with a start. He’d dozed off again and his head had slipped between his hands and banged against the picnic table.

Beside him Papyrus groaned before pulling him close to his side to lean against him instead of supporting himself any longer.

"What were you thinking, wearing yourself out like this?" His younger brother huffed in annoyance. "Honestly! Pushing your limits like that is just irresponsible! You could end up getting yourself really sick or hurt!"

He sounded more concerned than frustrated, making Sans feel a pang of guilt. He really should have been more careful, if only to spare Papyrus the unnecessary worry. He really did just need a nice long sleep to recharge but Papyrus tended to fret over him at times.

"Sorry, Paps. Wasn't thinking I guess..."

"I'll say!"

"Won't happen again." He elbowed him and chuckled. "I'll try to be lazier from now on."

Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets at him. "I swear, Sans-"

"Shhhh!" They both jumped slightly as Undyne whipped around and glared at them from the other side of the table, holding a finger to her lips. "I can barely hear over you two yammering on back there!"

Sans yawned and folded his arms on the table. "Well, I can barely see over you and the doc making kissy faces at each other."

"S-Sans!" Alphys, seated beside Undyne, turned to face them as well and revealed the deep, orange-tinted blush on her face.

Undyne blushed as well. "You can’t see because you can’t keep your eyes open!"

Papyrus banged his hands on the table. "So help me, I will tell Miss Toriel none of you are allowed to have any dessert when we get back home if you can’t quiet down!"

Sans fought back a snicker as Undyne scowled, silently miming "I’m watching you" to him before turning back around and throwing an arm around Alphys.

It was still a battle to keep himself awake for the rest of the speeches, but finally Frisk and Toriel were called up from their seats at the back of the stage where they had been waiting the whole time. Frisk still held the pot in her arms proudly, though the occupant of said pot seemed less than thrilled with his situation. Her dirt smudged shirt had been covered up by the tabard-like garment that Toriel had made for her, which matched the one she was wearing as well. It was purple and bore an altered version of the symbol Toriel’s old robes from her days in the Ruins had. This symbol now represented the monsters being freed from the Underground rather than waiting to be set free.

Holding each other’s hands, the two walked to the back of the stage and took places on either side of a cloth sheet that covered a large object behind the stage. This was something Sans, or anyone else really for that matter, had not been allowed to have details on.

It was a statue that been constructed to honor the fallen humans that came before Frisk as well as the former king and queen’s two children who had passed long ago. Toriel and Frisk had been the ones to design it.

Frisk had suggested it actually, and everyone had agreed it seemed like the right thing to do. Regardless of what happened when the humans fell, it was really because of them that Frisk had been able to free the monsters at all, according to her. She had also insisted that she hadn’t really been the one to ultimately free everyone, but apparently she had promised not to say who it had been, only that it was someone who deserved to be remembered as well "whether he likes it or not", as she had said.

Frisk and Toriel were given the go ahead and the sheet was pulled down amid enthusiastic applause from the crowd.

Six dark marble pillars surrounded a larger one. A colorful, glass heart was affixed to the top of each of the six pillars. Light blue, orange, green, dark blue, purple, and yellow, representing the six fallen humans and their souls that had been captured in the Underground. The large pillar in the center had three hearts on top of it. Two red and standing upright like the others at the pillar’s base, and one white-grey and inverted. The three represented the souls of Chara and Asriel, the royal children that has passed, and Frisk.

The sunlight glistened off the glass hearts, casting colorful flecks of light over the marble base of the statue. Toriel moved to stand beside Frisk once again, putting hands on her shoulders as they gazed up at the memorial.

Sans was already drifting off again as one of the humans who had also been in charge of organizing the event said something about thanking everyone for coming and to enjoy the rest of the day. Then Mettaton, Napstablook, and Shyren took the stage to provide music for the remainder of the afternoon. He barely noticed as he was lifted up by Papyrus and carried over to meet the others now that they were off the stage.

"My goodness, Sans," Toriel sounded slightly amused at the sight of him, "I hope you didn’t miss the whole thing."

"Not the whole thing." Sans shrugged as Papyrus set him down beside the rest of the group and went to speak with the others. "Just, uh, most of it maybe."

"I suppose that’s what you get for running off with Frisk to goodness knows where all morning."

"Yeah...sorry about that. Again. She kinda talked me into it."

"She can be very persuasive." Toriel laughed lightly, kneeling down in the grass to be closer to Sans’ level. "Speaking of that...I know she's been pestering you about something and I wanted to talk to you about it before she somehow convinces you to stay if you don’t want to."

"Whaddaya mean?"

"Well," She rubbed the edge of one of her long ears between her thumb and index finger, "I know it was just you and Papyrus back in the Underground. I don’t want Frisk to try and convince you that you need to stay with us any longer than you think is necessary. Not that I haven’t enjoyed it of course! But I’m sure you and your brother are eager to find a place of your own, as I'm sure that's what you're most comfortable with, and I wouldn’t want you feeling cornered into staying because Frisk wants you to."

Sans mentally kicked himself. Right. He and Papyrus had moved in with Toriel into her new place on the surface during the big exit from the Underground before most of the monsters had found places of their own. He wasn’t sure at first about living with someone other than Papyrus, it had been just the two of them since they were both pretty young. But he had come to actually enjoy the new life he was experiencing with his friend and her adopted child.

Waking up in the morning with the sound of Frisk giggling down the hall as Papyrus hauled her out of bed while she pretended to still be asleep, the sound of Toriel humming as she baked something delicious in the kitchen, walking through the house only to have Frisk declare "the floor is lava" and watching as Papyrus, and Undyne when she was visiting, scrambled for a chair or table to stand on, being able to see and talk to Toriel every day. It was all so different from how life used to be and better in so many ways.

Frisk had said on a few occasions already how she hoped they stayed for a long time, obviously enjoying the living situation as well. Of course, he hadn't really given much thought to whether Toriel wanted them there much longer. She seemed content with the arrangement, but he supposed she might be too kind and polite to act otherwise. It was her place after all, surely she hadn't intended to put them up forever. Perhaps the brothers had overstayed their welcome by now...

Sans scratched the back of his skull awkwardly, unsure of how to respond. "Well...I wouldn’t say we’re eager. And I haven’t actually been looking for a place for us. Yet. But I will. I’ll talk to Paps about it later and I’m sure we can find something-"

"Oh, goodness! Sans this isn’t an eviction notice!" She put a hand on his shoulder. "I don’t want you to leave- oh...well, what I mean is, if you’d rather stay I’d be happy with that. As long as you’re comfortable living with Frisk and I then there’s no need for you to go! I’d be very happy to have you continue to stay with us. Both of you."

"Oh. Okay." He immediately felt relieved. "Well I’d be happy with that too...as long as you’re okay with it. It's your house after all. Are you sure?"

"I feel that, at this point, it wouldn't be quite the same if you were gone."

"Heh. Yeah I was kinda kinda- oof!"

He was cut off as Frisk barreled into him, knocking him backwards onto the ground. "Picture time!"

"My child!" Toriel scolded the young human as she pried her off of Sans and set her on her feet. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, but tackling people unexpectedly is not the best way to express that."

"S’okay, T." Sans remained lying on the cool grass. "After being irresponsible today, I deserve to be _grounded_."

He was rewarded with Toriel's distinctive, bubbly laugh. "Come now, Sans. It's nothing to _fall_ to pieces over."

"You're pretty _down to earth_ about it."

"Well I-"

"Mama." Frisk interrupted with a giggle, tugging on Toriel's sleeve. "Pictures! Come on!"

And then she hurried off to join the others who had gathered in front of the stage. It looked like they had managed to get a passerby to stop and take a group picture so everyone could be in it. But it really looked like such a long walk from where Sans was lying on the ground...

He waved a limp hand. "Go on without me. I'll just wait here and- whoa...okay."

He was slightly surprised to find himself suddenly lifted up into Toriel's arms.

"Not a chance, lazy bones." She grinned as she made her way over to join the others. "I won't be leaving you _down_ in the dumps."

The group crowded together for the picture so that everyone could be seen. Toriel kept her hold on Sans and took a spot beside Papyrus, who had Frisk on his shoulders and the potted Flowey in his arms. The rest of the group found places around them and they all held their positions for the picture.

Sans felt a sense on contentment that had become more and more familiar to him since reaching the surface. Relaxing a bit more in Toriel's arms he couldn't help but steal a glance up at her.

' _Yeah. You never do, Tori._ ' He thought drowsily, eye sockets already threatening to close again. ' _You never do._ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me forever to write and I finally finished it! ;-; i hope you like it! I am so tired but I checked over this as many times as I could so I apologize for any errors I missed.
> 
> I'm undecided how much monster-human conflict will occur in this story...I had at first thought I'd include some in this chapter but I really wanted things to be happy (at least at first). So the anti-human + anti-monster stuff will have to wait until I decide how far I'm going to go with it. 
> 
> Don't expect every chapter to be as long or detailed as this....I felt like this one had to be because I'm paranoid that without a lengthy setup it won't make sense somehow. 
> 
> I hope I'll have another chapter up soon! And I hope you enjoyed this one!


	2. Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Frisk tries to be chill but is definitely not chill and causes Sans to be not chill either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this gosh dang chapter 3 and a half times...3 and a half gosh dang times. 
> 
> I know these first few chapters are all going to be pretty rocky (I know this one is but I've taken too long to update already so hopefully you can forgive me for this) but bear with me and hopefully it'll be a lot smoother once more of the plot starts rolling. I lie to myself when I say that the first chapter is the hardest to write. Really, it's at least the first handful, even with minor outlines apparently....bleh. Sorry. I hope this is enjoyable regardless!
> 
> Also I updated the tags and summary because I made some mental changes to the plot direction I originally had so the tags and summary should show that. 
> 
> I hope you're okay with slight (reset related) angst after the happy prologue because I can't write anything without making it angsty apparently :')
> 
> I also hope you enjoy this large amount of Frisk Exposition :P Maybe should have made the first chapter from her point of view...idk... It is what it is! :)

Since Toriel was occupied with preparing for her job as a teacher, teaching monster history and a variety of other monster related topics at Frisk's new school starting next week, she had been too busy to take Frisk shopping for school supplies. Sans had offered to help out by taking her instead and Papyrus had naturally invited himself along.

The taller of the skeleton duo had hurried off soon after arriving at the store to take care of the grocery portion of the list, leaving Frisk to follow Sans around and gather anything she would need for the third grade.

Cheerful looking banners hung above nearly every aisle, boldly announcing both back-to-school sales and the approach of Halloween. Frisk suspected that, as an eight year old child, she was probably supposed to be excited for both things or at least the latter of them. She had tried to be, or at least tried to pretend so as not to worry anyone, but truthfully she was dreading it all. But not for the reason the others might suspect if she let on how she was really feeling. It wasn't for any normal reason, like being nervous about going to an actual school for the first time. She was dreading every day, every moment, that passed. She was dreading the passage of time.

Nine months and twenty-nine days. That's how long it had been since the Barrier had been broken. Nine months and twenty-nine days and the lost monsters, as she had taken to calling them, were still no closer to being saved than before. Nine months and twenty-nine days since she had decided not to reset again, to stop looking for a solution on her own, to go forward instead of back again and again in the hopes that that would be what saved them. Nine months and twenty-nine days and she still wasn't sure if this was the right course of action. Because, after all, she was the one with this power, right? So that made it her responsibility to be the one who found a way to save them. Because if not her, then who would? So if she made the wrong choice...

The too familiar feeling of her chest tightening, constricting her breath, and the beginnings of a stomachache interrupted her thoughts. Ringing filled her ears and her fingers felt numb as she dug them into the bony hand she had forgotten she was holding.

"Uh...kid?" Sans, the owner of the hand, turned to her with a concerned expression. "Hey, you alright?"

Swallowing dryly, Frisk nodded and forced a casual smile. "Uh huh..."

"You sure? 'Cause you look a bit like an astronaut."

"What?"

"You're spacing out."

That managed to get a half amused snort out of her. But only half. "Five out of ten. Not your best."

But not my worst either, huh?" He ruffled her hair with his free hand. "So...if you're really okay, we still have a few things left to get and I can't choose a backpack for you."

"Well..." Frisk turned to look at the dozen or so different backpacks hanging along the wall. Some bore depictions of fictional characters she vaguely recognized and others were a variety of solid colors or simple patterns. Honestly she had no idea which she wanted. Somehow she couldn't wrap her mind around how normal of a decision it was. Her mind was still buzzing from her earlier thoughts.

Turning back to Sans she shrugged. "Maybe you _could_ choose for me?"

"What? You're serious?" He gave her a quizzical look. "I mean, sure, I can if you want but...you don't have a preference? Not even for these superhero ones?"

Superheroes. Huh...that was probably something she should be interested in. Or at the very least know something about. Maybe she had known about them before falling into the Underground but had likely forgotten it along with almost everything else from whatever her previous life had been. A long fall into a seemingly bottomless pit in a mountain had done more than give her a splitting headache, she'd realized a few resets after. Though maybe she was lucky that had been all it had done to her. Maybe.

And there was that tight feeling in her chest again...

"Earth to Frisk. Did I lose you again?"

"Oh...uh..." Roused from her thoughts she shrugged again. "I don't know. I don't know a lot about superheroes really..."

"Even this one?" He lifted up a backpack. Red and blue with a black spiderweb pattern and a large, black spider silhouette over the front.

A shudder ran through her and she tried to ignore the phantom sensation of dozens upon dozens of tiny, eight legged creatures creeping up and down her body and the feeling that a hungry beast was creeping up behind her in the dark. That was definitely not something she was eager to go through yet again if she had to go back and do everything over. Which she might have to do if they couldn't find a way to help the lost monsters. Because she couldn't believe there wasn't a way to save them and she'd find it. Even if she had to keep doing it all over and over and over and over and...

She forced as much air as she could into her tight lungs and tried to stop her fingers from anxiously clenching and unclenching, kneading the fabric of her jeans. "I...uh...no. Doesn't ring a bell."

"Ah, bud," Sans grasped his chest in mock pain, "that's just not right. We're gonna need to have a major movie night and fix that sometime."

"Yeah. Sounds...sounds good."

The skeleton narrowed his eye sockets at her for a moment as he returned the backpack to its place. "You sure you're okay? Something on your mind? You just seem pretty out of it today..."

"Yes. I mean, no. Or...um," she heaved a sigh, "...Sans?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you ask Alphys yet? About the, uh, the thing?"

Sans blinked, apparently caught off guard.

"It's just...I..." She hadn't really been planning to bring this up here, the middle of a supermarket probably wasn't the ideal place and time to discuss this subject after all, but it was technically on her mind and he had asked. "You said you'd ask her for help."

"Uh..." Sans looked uncomfortable now. At least it wasn't just her anymore. "She's pretty busy with her own things at the institute. All the 'human-monster research collaboration' stuff, y'know?"

"So you didn't ask her?"

"No...no, I haven't..."

A knot formed in the pit of her stomach and she clenched her hands. Why was he so reluctant to do anything about this?

The first time they'd discussed things after she'd gotten him to believe her, she'd thought he'd been fairly willing to help. But the more they had talked over the nearly three months since then, the more she got the sense he wasn't. Or was at least uncomfortable with it for some reason.

At one point he had stated that this was over both their heads, that there was science involved that he wasn't very experienced with.So she had told him to get help from Alphys. It seemed so simple really. If the problem was science then they should just ask a scientist. He didn't seem to like the idea but had agreed to ask her eventually. Frisk had just thought that "eventually" would have happened already. He'd had plenty of opportunities to bring it up, hadn't he?

"Saaaaans..." She couldn't help the slight whine that crept into her voice. It was more from desperation than anything else.

"Frisk, it's complicated. Okay?" Sans sighed and scratched the back of his skull. "There's a lot more to this than you realize."

"You keep saying that but you never tell me why."

"'Cause I can't."

"Why?"

"It's...complicated."

Frisk huffed in frustration and stomped a foot. "You said you'd help me!"

"I said I'd try."

"But you haven't done anything to help me yet!"

Her throat was starting to tighten up and the prickling sensation in her eyes told her that tears threatened to spill over any moment. What was she going to do if he didn't help? If he couldn't help? She really was going to have to go back after all. But what would she go back for now? More information? She had exhausted every source she could possibly think of. A way to better convince Sans? Or convince someone else? But how? This really had seemed like the only option left. Or had she just given up and settled because she was tired of going back? So, so tired...

"I've tried before, alright?" Sans sounded exasperated, but Frisk thought she detected something else in his voice too. Something melancholy. "I tried and couldn't do it so I gave up. I gave up a long time ago. So it's not exactly easy for me to think it'll work now."

"You...already tried? But...then you knew about the lost monsters already?"

"No...I had no idea. That was new info. But...it's related to what I was trying to do before. At least I don't see how it couldn't be."

"How?"

"It's-"

"Complicated?"

"Yeah..."

Frisk was silent for a moment before sighing. "If you don't want to tell me...that's okay. But you said you'd help, you said you'd get help from Alphys, so will you? Please?"

Sans scratched the back of his skull and shoved his hands into the pockets of his worn hoodie, giving a dry chuckle. "Honestly, you're probably the only one who'd actually believe me. I just don't like talking about it much...but yeah. I'll ask her. I do want to try again it's just...it's just a lot, kid."

She nodded. At least she now had some idea of why he was so slow to act with this. And more than that, she understood how he felt to some extent. And she wished she could let him know that she did, but she too wasn't keen on sharing her reset exploits yet. Not even with Sans, who seemed most likely to understand, given the few timelines where she'd revealed her ability to him. She just couldn't this time, not yet. Not before she was certain she wouldn't have to go back again. It would be hard enough undoing so much without anyone knowing she was going to. She couldn't imagine telling anyone else about it, even if they wouldn't remember after.

Her thoughts were interrupted once again as Sans ruffled her hair.

"Alright, bud. No more long faces today. I'll ask her next time I see her so just put it outta your mind for now."

Ducking away from the assault on her now tangled hair she gave him a hopeful half smile. "You promise?"

He shrugged and returned his hand to his pocket. "Yeah, sure. I promise. Just don't worry about this so much, okay? It really shouldn't be your problem to deal with anyway. You focus on school and, hell I don't know, regular kid stuff. Let me worry about all the other nonsense. Sound good?"

Frisk honestly doubted she could manage the "regular kid" portion of the deal, mainly because she wasn't sure what normal kids were supposed to worry about since she technically had no memory of being one herself. But school was something she figured she could handle. So she nodded.

Sans appeared relieved, if only slightly. "Okay. Good. So where were we?"

"Backpacks?"

"Right. Backpacks."

At that moment a shopping cart came zooming down the aisle, driven by none other than Papyrus.

The cart was filled to the brim with a large variety of produce, canned goods, and other such food items.

"Sans! Frisk!" He excitedly reached into the pile of food items and pulled out a large, colorful cardboard box. "Have you seen this?! It's amazing!"

"Is that...oatmeal?" Frisk was a bit distracted by the rest of the cart's contents, mainly the overall quantity. They were going to have to carry it all themselves, since they didn't have a car. Maybe it had been a mistake to let Papyrus do the grocery shopping unsupervised...

"Yes, it is! But it's better than that! Look!" He held the box out in front of her. "It has these little candy things inside that look like dinosaur eggs! And they turn into dinosaurs when you add the hot water! Isn't that amazing!"

She couldn't help smiling. Papyrus made anything seem exciting and cool. He was cool. "Yeah. That looks awesome!"

"Looks great Paps. But, uh..." Sans appeared pleased that his brother was so enthusiastic, but Frisk could see he was eyeing the stuffed cart uneasily as well. "This is quite the haul you have here...you sure we can carry all this ourselves?"

"Oh don't worry!" The younger brother placed the box precariously on top of the mountain of groceries. "Undyne said she would help carry everything!"

"Oh. Wait...Undyne's here?"

"I ran into her and Alphys! They were shopping too! And I invited them over for dinner as thanks for helping us get everything home! It's been a while since we had them over, it will be great to catch up with them!"

Frisk looked over to Sans, trying to hide her slightly triumphant smirk, and saw him slouch a bit as he muttered under his breath.

"Dammit..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta be careful with those promises, Sans ;P
> 
> And yes...Frisk is the one with reset angst in this story :P Yaaaaaay!....I'm sorry, kiddo... *inserts "With great power comes great responsibility" parallel because of the Spider-Man backpack because I'm a dork*
> 
> Also I had to reference Papy with the dinosaur egg oatmeal. I just had to.
> 
> I hope I can update with the next chapter faster this time! I'll try my best!
> 
> Sorry again for it being so....exposition-y and forced lol. I mean it feels a little forced to me but I was really stuck and this was the only version of the chapter I could actually finish. I'm not trying to make excuses, just explaining :P I mean if I kept going until it felt smoother...I'd be rewriting it for a fifth time by the end of this month. I know I don't want that and you probably don't want that either.
> 
> Again, I hope to have another chapter up faster than this one took! Thank you again so much for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy!
> 
> P.S. I don't know about you.....but I'm feelin' 22. Haha yeah I'm another year older now. Happy Birthday to me :P


	3. The BoneFire Family

Don’t be mad!

And don’t exit the fic yet! I want to explain!

 

Short Version: for various reasons, I started working on an ask blog/fic blog for pre-Undertale Gaster and Grillby. It’s “canon” for what I was writing in the fic, but currently I’m enjoying working on that more than this. I’m having fun with it and I want to see where it goes.

So if you want, please check it out!!

**[Ask The BoneFire Family](ask-the-bonefire-family.tumblr.com) **

 

Long-ish Version: So when I started writing this I already had a lot of the BoneFire stuff in mind. And I was already wanting to do the aka blog. But I’m not the fastes artist so I figured maybe I’d just write the After-Story stuff instead of going ahead with the blog?? Idk why. 

But then I started hitting lots of writer’s block for this because I was still really wanting to write stuff with Grillby and Gaster. 

So I went and created the BoneFire Family blog to have on the side. But that became what I wanted to focus on most. And I decided to also post all the blog updates on here as chapters in a separate fanfic. 

Basically, I’m really really hoping I can stick with the blog/fic and see it through! And I hope others can enjoy it! 

So yeah if this fic was enjoyable for you, maybe the BoneFire Family stuff will be too! So take a look if you want! ^_^ And send asks!

Sorry for semi-abandoning this. But if I can continue with the other one, I’ll eventually reach a point in the story where I get back to where I left off here! There will be some differences when that time comes but I think it’ll be fun!

Thanks for reading this! Feel free to check out the other fic and follow the story there!!


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